


his brother's coat

by Nara_stories



Series: Red Coats [2]
Category: Outlander & Related Fandoms
Genre: (past) - Freeform, Alex POV, Alex Randall having the hots for his brother basically, Cuddling & Snuggling, Freeform, Implied/Referenced Incest, M/M, Not Acted Upon, Sexual Fantasy, Sibling Incest, Uniform Kink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:26:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28158273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nara_stories/pseuds/Nara_stories
Summary: Alex Randall doesn't mind his brother's coat too much.I got inspired to leave another character alone with a coat. Just to see what happens. This happened. Read the tags.He sighed softly. He wasn’t going to act like a jealous lover, he wouldn’t hate it. He petted the coat as it were a living thing.
Relationships: Alex Randall/Jonathan "Black Jack" Randall
Series: Red Coats [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2062866
Comments: 8
Kudos: 11





	his brother's coat

**Author's Note:**

  * For [i_dwell_in_darkness](https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_dwell_in_darkness/gifts).



> I borrowed your darlings, hope you don't mind ;)

His brother’s coat hung on the back of the chair.

When he first blinked his eyes open, he was startled by the unfamiliar shape in the dark room. Then, he remembered that he had a coughing fit in the night, as he often did in the winter because of the cold and the smoke of the fires. Johnny came in, pulled up a chair and sat with him until he was able to fall asleep again.

Alex vaguely recalled the sharp smell of a candle being snuffed out and a hand, broad and familiar brushing through his hair. He slid out of bed and poked up the fire. Then, he found the candle on the bedside table and lit it on the glowing embers.

It was early and the house was completely quiet. Outside, there was not even the barest hint of dawn showing between the trees yet, but Alex, who spent countless nights lying awake, and was familiar with the patterns of the dark, knew it would come any minute now. He felt more rested than in weeks and didn’t want to risk going back to sleep and waking up more groggily. He contemplated getting back to bed and reading one of the many books stacked up on his bedside table but stopped beside the chair.

The coat was blood-red and showed signs of wear from frequent travels and harsh weather. Alex touched it gently. The material was soft, but thick, made to last and to keep its wearer warm. He put the candle down and wrapped both arms around the back of the chair, laying his cheek on the wool. He missed his brother.

Ever since Johnny took up the commission, there were many months passing between Alex seeing him. He did not fault him, of course. Johnny was meant to be a soldier. Alex was sure of that. He had always told him so.

His brother’s mind was built for strategy. Growing up, there were not many people who could beat him at chess. Alex was one of those who occasionally could, maybe because Johnny was the one to teach him. Nevertheless, it always filled Alex with pride when that happened. His brother was not someone who would let him win just to entertain him. He hid his smile in the red material. The chair dug into his arms, but he wasn’t ready to let go just yet.

Johnny had brutality in him too, to an extent that frightened most people, and with good reason. He would soon bore of chess. It was just a game, with no real stakes, played in the comfort of one’s rooms and he was already so good at it. War had stakes. War required brutality, while also valuing a strategic mind. Alex thought it was better this way. The unimaginable horrors of the battlefield surely satisfied that part of his brother that always terrified people in their sleepy birth town. The one who always pushed things a little too far. What better way to release the demon everyone said he had in him than on their enemies?

Of course, Alex didn’t really know about a soldier’s life beyond the recounts of famous battles he had read in books. He pushed himself upright and looked down at the coat.

It was the thing that stole his brother from him. Yet, Johnny was so proud wearing it. It was the recognition he always wanted but never got. He didn’t say that of course, but Alex knew him well. He sighed softly. He wasn’t going to act like a jealous lover, he wouldn’t hate it. He petted the coat as it were a living thing.

It was his own fault, really, for being so weak and sickly. If only he were stronger, he could be a soldier too. He would have his own red coat and could follow his brother out there to the battlefields. Johnny would teach him how it was done, just like he taught him to play chess and would perhaps look at him with pride instead of worry that he might break from the slightest of winds, the smallest of touches.

But he wasn’t stronger. He had always been a sickly child and he overheard the town doctor whispering to their oldest brother once that he would be surprised if Alex survived thirty winters. He would never be a redcoat.

The idea came to him in a flash, and he was lifting the coat before he even thought it through. He weighed the garment in his hand. It was heavier than it seemed. He glanced towards to door and took a moment to listen, but the house was still silent. Clumsily, he slipped the coat on over his nightshirt.

It settled on his shoulders like a warm blanket and he closed his eyes in bliss. The deep, spicy scent of his brother enveloped him. It was the most comforting thing to him in the whole world. He breathed in deep. The coat carried a sharp tang of his dried sweat from riding and probably from fighting. Alex didn’t sweat like that. He only sweated when he got sick and had to lay under heavy blankets with a fire roaring next to his bed. There was also the faintest whiff of lavender. Alex liked lavenders. The smell helped him fall asleep and sometimes Johnny would pick a bouquet of them and leave them on his bedside.

He didn’t feel like reading any more. Perhaps there was no harm in going back to sleep after all. He blew out the candle and crawled back to bed, pulling the coat tighter around himself. It was a little bit like having Johnny in bed with him. He missed that too.

Johnny didn’t let him sleep in his bed any more, even when he was at home. When they were younger and Alex had a bad dream, he would often go over to his brother’s room. Johnny was a light sleeper too and always seemed to wake up when sensing his presence. He would lift the quilt invitingly and Alex would snuggle up next to him, comforted in the knowledge that no mean thing lurking around could harm him there, in his brother’s presence, who was perhaps the meanest of them all.

He couldn’t quite remember when it was that Johnny put an end to it if it was a gradual thing or one firm decision. He always thought it had to do with that one summer night he remembered so vividly.

He drifted easily into the memory now with the coat enveloping him, just like Johnny’s arms did that night.

He always seemed to sleep worse in the summer and had spent almost every other night with his brother. He padded over in his shirt, the night breeze refreshing on his bare legs. Johnny scooted over without a word when he saw him. He was in his drawers, but bare-chested, skin glistening with sweat. Maybe he would have slept naked if not anticipating his little brother to come over. Alex curled up, and Johnny threw an arm around his waist, pulling him in with a practised move. The summer heat suddenly didn’t feel stifling any more and Alex fell asleep almost instantly.

He woke up at dawn to the sound of birds. He was very warm and his heart was pounding in his chest, but he didn’t feel panic like he usually did after a bad dream. Johnny was still hugging him close, his chest plastered to his back, their mingled sweat soaking through the thin material. Alex let his awareness lazily follow the lines of his body, realizing with a jolt what had woken him. Johnny was pressed against his back from shoulder to knee. His hips too and his hardness lay nestled between his buttocks through two layers of thin linen.

Johnny’s breaths were deep and even, all signs that he was still asleep. Alex didn’t dare move a muscle, too afraid that he would wake him. If he woke, he would move away. Alex wasn’t exactly sure what he was feeling at that moment, only that he really didn’t want Johnny to move away. So, he just lay there, pretending to be asleep with scorching heat coursing through his body from his fingertips to his toes. He didn’t remember whether he had been hard too. He must have been, with how aroused he had gotten but was probably too afraid even to admit it to himself.

Now, he had no doubt about it. He was older and had time to identify the sinful desire within him. He tried to find a comfortable position and ended up rolling slightly to his stomach, bending a leg and pressing himself to the bed.

His mind conjured up images about how that summer night could have gone. It would have been easy to sweep those two layers of fabric aside. He imagined those strong hands that had doubtless taken lives by now, but always touched him so gently, pushing his shirt aside, then pulling him back in. To feel skin on skin. Alex was sure they would have fitted together even more perfectly.

It was wrong to even think about it. But he was alone and he let the desire send ripples of movement through his body. He rocked against the mattress, the delicious friction and the images in his mind’s eye enough to make him pant softly. It was very warm with the coat and the blankets. Perspiration broke out on his forehead, the healthy kind.

He wanted to be healthy, to be more like his brother, to be strong and go on adventures. But he also just wanted to be with him. Know what he was like when he wasn’t a soldier on leave, distant and a bit bored, even if he always had attention to spare for Alex.

Sweat ran down his neck, as he rutted against the mattress. He imagined it was a set of warm lips and a wet tongue leaving a trail of kisses behind. He once read somewhere that you could glimpse someone’s soul when laying with them. He wanted that. He loved Johnny. Loved him so much.

Bone-melting bliss filled his body and he spilled himself with a muffled cry.

His shirt soaked through in a wet patch. He felt around in the dark with his hand. There was some of it on the bed, and the corner of the coat was wet too. Hot shame flooded through him, but then it melted away into satisfaction. Johnny would wear the coat and now a little piece of him would be there too.

He closed his eyes again. Even so much exertion wore him out and he soon drifted back into a shallow sleep, still imagining laying in that desired embrace.

The next time he opened his eyes again the room was filled with brilliant morning light. His eyes barely had time to adjust, when the door creaked open, and Alex found himself blinking up at his brother, who had a mildly annoyed look on his face.

Memories of last night’s fantasies came flooding back to him and he blushed. He was still snuggled up in the coat, the same way he had fallen asleep. Johnny saw it too and his expression softened. He stepped closer, the corner of his lips pulling up into a small smile.

“I wondered where I’ve left that.”

He sat down at the edge of the bed, gazing down at him fondly and stroked Alex’s hair out of his face.

“Did you sleep well?”

Alex nodded. He wanted to apologize for putting the coat on, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He was not sorry, and Johnny didn’t like when he said things he didn’t mean.

He stretched and pushed himself upright. Johnny’s nostrils flared. Alex could smell himself too. A mixture of warm bed, sleep, his sweat, his seed, with the wool of the coat. He blushed deeper but didn’t avert his eyes.

_Take me. Take me with you. Take me._

The thoughts thrummed through his head with agonizing desperation. Perhaps his brother wasn’t the only one who had a demon in him. Maybe Edward was right and he would benefit from a clerical path, although he doubted, he could ever bring himself to confess the thoughts currently running through his mind.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and reluctantly shrugged out of the coat. He instantly shivered without the garment.

Johnny took it from him, and then put it on, slowly, not breaking eye contact. Perhaps Alex imagined it, but there was heat in his eyes now. If he touched him in that moment, Alex knew he would have thrown all caution and holy calling to the wind.

But there was a noise from the hallway and the moment was broken. Johnny gave him a sly smile as if he knew exactly what had been going on in his head.

“Come, put something on. Breakfast is ready.”


End file.
